penthouse roof sagging

[Mwood]

hey folks,

I noticed the penthouse top on my new van is sagging pretty good in the middle today.

its also mushrooming out almost past the gutters

this is supposed to be flat correct?

Is it worth trying to repair or is it too far gone?

Mitch

[Mwood]

rear picture:

[doublevan2]

I'm just gonna say that my PH roof (2002 E350 Fresno) also has some sag to it - will often pool up water in the center - but rolls/blows off when driving or sitting on uphill or downhill slope. Hoping others will eventually give their experiences and solutions - if there is any ?

[Mwood]

i have seen people who refiberglassed the inside egdes while pulling them together with ratchet straps to fix mushrooming. i havent seen anything about the sagging in the middle though

[doublevan2]

Hoping someone like "Ray" or "86Scotty or VanDiesel will eventually chime in - ?

[boywonder]

That looks like the wood (OSB usually) is rotten inside the fiberglass....that's not normal..........I've never actually seen one sag like that.

My suspicion is that you are leaking water/moisture into the wood stringers embedded in the fiberglass.

How old is the roof/van??

What part of the country are you in?

[Mwood]

Originally Posted by boywonder

That looks like the wood (OSB usually) is rotten inside the fiberglass....that's not normal..........I've never actually seen one sag like that.

My suspicion is that you are leaking water/moisture into the wood stringers embedded in the fiberglass.

How old is the roof/van??

What part of the country are you in?

Im in california. I believe its a ca van. its a 93.

possible that it isnt moisture but a previous owner mounted something heavy up there? there are mounts for something else under the solar panel.

sounds not ideal.. I guess I'll need to pull the inside roof panel and inspect.

[1der]

Where in California?

The sagged area looks forward of the front crossbar pivot.

If you push up inside in that area is there much flex?

looks like a regular length van?

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Mwood

Im in california. I believe its a ca van. its a 93.

possible that it isnt moisture but a previous owner mounted something heavy up there? there are mounts for something else under the solar panel.

sounds not ideal.. I guess I'll need to pull the inside roof panel and inspect.

Yes although pulling down the headliner usually just reveals the underside of chopped fiberglass and resin........but you never know......

Also be aware that removing the headliner results in the canvas ending up around your ankles; it's attached to the roof with the same screws that hold the headliner up....so you need about 5 hands to reassemble.

There's an easy modification for that....cutting thin 1/8"-1/4" plywood strips and fasten the canvas to the roof with those. You can use the hole pattern in the headliner pieces as a drill template to get the screw hole in the same places.....then reinstall the headliner. In my van I fabricated a new headliner that is only held up by the two lifting pads that the crossbars attach to, no screws around the perimeter.

The gory details start in post 18 here:

https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...p-10808-2.html

[ShuttlePilot]

My 2005 West build, RB, manual top, has always had that sag in the front, less so in the back. It was noticeable when I purchased my van used in 2010. Water has always puddled on the roof. People assume it is caused by my installation of the fan and cutting through the roof. It's always been there and I actually reinforced my roof when installing the fan just for this reason. On mine the lowest point is where the front two latches bolt through the roof as if they were way too tight at sometime. the roof isn't floppy, I can walk on it and it doesn't feel spongy. Dunno. I don't loose sleep over it.


- Eric